Last week, I introduced you to the “In My Shoes” exhibit that hit Milwaukee at the beginning of this month. I had the chance to experience it firsthand over the weekend with my friend Maureen from Wisconsin Mommy and I have to say, it was absolutely inspiring! The In My Shoes exhibit is currently on display at the Central Library, 814 W. Wisconsin Ave. in Milwaukee. You can stop in the Schoenleber Reading Room until April 26th and take a look for yourself.
The In My Shoes exhibit was launched by Rosecrance, one of the leading teen substance abuse treatment centers in the country. The shoes were created by teens to help their parents better understand their point of view and the pressures that they face in their young lives.
Each shoe paints a teen’s story in their battle with not only substance abuse, but other issues they’ve experienced. The one below shares a life filled with depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, sexual abuse and mistakes.
But all of these stories don’t have to have a sad ending. The one below is full of hope for the future. It reads “The Meaning of this shoe is to explain my life so far and the life I’ll have in the future. I’m good to go, ready to refresh and renew my life after rehab.”
Not only does the In My Shoes exhibit offer hope to teens battling these types of problems, but it helps shed light on the feelings they go through. It also offers hope that there is a way out, a “light at the end of the tunnel” so to speak. It helps to let teens know that they are not alone.
But it also acts as a starting point; something to get the topic started for parents and their kids to connect about these issues. It helps to open up a discussion, one that many parents and kids find hard to start with each other. Parents can express their thoughts on the matter and some may be able to give first hand testimonials from having dealt with one or more of these issues in their lives.They can let their kids know what they expect from them and hopefully deter them away from the wrong track, before it’s too late.
At the same time, kids can feel more open to conversation on this topic with their parents and not have to feel they’re being singled out, like a discussion in another time or place might make them feel. They can share the pressures that they face from their peers, the worries and any other thoughts on the matter. Things seem to work out best when both sides can open up and the In My Shoes exhibit gives both parents and teens just that.
I’ll be participating in the #InMyShoes Twitter chat with Rosecrance on Thursday, April 16th. The time isn’t set in stone yet, but it will be sometime in the evening. I hope you can join us and chat for a bit about a very important topic that so many people can relate to. It’s sure to be a great discussion!
If you’re in the Milwaukee area this month, I encourage you to stop in Central Library so that you can get up close and personal with the “In My Shoes exhibit, in town until April 26th. Reading about it is one thing, but actually looking at the shoes, the story that each tells and reading the actual story that goes along with the shoe is really eye opening.
Seeing the exhibit firsthand has definitely made me want to get on level with my kids, who are 13 and 15. We’re going to check out the exhibit again, as a family and really open things up for discussion with them. Now that they’re in middle and high school, things are different, They’re faced with peer pressure more often and have bigger decisions to make. My hope is they’ll always make the right choices and communication is the start to that.
Has the topic of substance abuse come up in your home yet? How did you handle it?